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The University of Mississippi Athletics
2015 Ole Miss Spring Preview
3/2/2015 | Football
Ole Miss spring practice begins Tuesday. You can watch Hugh Freeze's pre-spring press conference at 1 p.m. on Tuesday here. Due to construction, the April 11 Regions Bank Grove Bowl will be the only practice open to the public. Kickoff is at noon, and admission is free.
Coming off a berth in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, one of the inaugural New Year's Six, Ole Miss begins spring ball looking to continue its climb into the college football elite status.
Hugh Freeze is the first Ole Miss coach to lead his teams to bowl appearances in each of his first three seasons at the helm, and the Rebels have increased their win total each year under him.
The 2014 Rebels won nine games, including four against teams that finished with 10 or more victories. A signature win over No. 1 Alabama and an Egg Bowl victory over No. 4 Mississippi State highlighted a spectacular SEC campaign for Freeze's team.
In February, Ole Miss hauled in its third straight top-15 rated signing class to ensure that the program keeps trending upward in talent and depth. Five of the 2015 signees are enrolled in class and available to participate in spring drills.
The Rebels welcome back 58 lettermen and 16 position starters from last season, including nine starters on the offensive side and seven from the nation's No. 1 scoring defense. Many early predictions have Ole Miss ranked among the top 20 teams in college football for 2015.
Below is a position-by-position breakdown entering spring drills.
QUARTERBACKS
• Spring drills will feature a battle for the starting quarterback job after the graduation of three-year starter Bo Wallace, who led Ole Miss to three straight bowl games and set school records for career total yards (10,383), passing efficiency (140.8) and completion percentage (63.0).
• Top candidates to replace Wallace include sophomores Ryan Buchanan and DeVante Kincade and JUCO transfer Chad Kelly.
• Buchanan was 12 of 22 for 75 yards and an interception, while Kincade was 16 of 20 for 127 yards and a TD in backup duties.
• Kelly, formerly of Clemson, led East Mississippi Community College to the NJCAA national title and was named first team All-America after throwing for 3,906 yards with 47 TDs and eight picks.
RUNNING BACKS
• Three lettermen return, including last year's top two rushers in Jaylen Walton (586 yards) and Jordan Wilkins (361 yards).
• Walton is a two-year starter with 1,227 career rushing yards and 12 career touchdown runs.
• Eugene Brazley and redshirt Akeem Judd will bolster the backfield's depth this spring.
• Highly rated signee Eric Swinney will join the team this fall.
• Mark Dodson and I'Tavius Mathers have transferred.
WIDE RECEIVERS
• Widely considered the top returning receiver in the SEC, Laquon Treadwell will see limited action this spring after breaking his fibula and dislocating his ankle in the Nov. 1 Auburn game.
• Treadwell already ranks 13th in school history with 120 career catches. He was an All-SEC second team pick by Athlon last year.
• Ole Miss could boast one of the most talented and deep groups of receivers in the SEC with the likes of Cody Core, Quincy Adeboyejo, Markell Pack and Damore'ea Stringfellow.
• Starter Vince Sanders graduated, but the Rebels return every other wide receiver that caught at least two passes.
• Highly rated signees DaMarkus Lodge and Van Jefferson will join the team this fall.
TIGHT ENDS
• Ole Miss boasts the SEC's top tight end in Evan Engram, a two-time All-SEC pick and earned second team All-America honors last year.
• Engram set an Ole Miss tight end record with 662 receiving yards in 2014 and led all TEs in the nation with 17.4 yards per catch.
• A total of five lettermen return at the position, most of them providing practice depth.
• Redshirt-freshman Sammie Epps will battle for snaps this spring.
OFFENSIVE LINE
• Ole Miss returns all five starters and 13 of 14 lettermen from last year's offensive line.
• Laremy Tunsil anchors left tackle as well as anyone in the country. In two years, he is a two-time All-SEC pick and was named to several All-America teams last season.
• Other returning starters include Aaron Morris (LG), Ben Still (C), Justin Bell (RG) and Fahn Cooper (RT).
• Others who should push for additional playing time and starting jobs include guards Rod Taylor and Javon Patterson, center/tackle Robert Conyers and tackle Christian Morris.
• Patterson is a 5-star recruit who graduated high school early and enrolled at Ole Miss in January.
• Morris and Tunsil were both injured late in the 2014 season and are expected to miss spring drills.
DEFENSIVE ENDS
• One of the nation's most explosive and havoc-wreaking defensive lines resides in Oxford, Mississippi.
• Among the five returning lettermen at defensive end are starters C.J. Johnson and Fadol Brown and Freshman All-American Marquis Haynes.
• Johnson is the veteran leader of the Rebel defense and ranks among the SEC's active leaders with 24 career TFLs and 11.5 sacks.
• Haynes led the team with 7.5 sacks and shared the team lead with 9.0 TFLs last year. He ranked fourth nationally among freshmen in sacks.
• Redshirt-freshman Victor Evans is expected to make an impact this spring and fall.
DEFENSIVE TACKLES
• Four of six lettermen return from last year, including starters Robert Nkemdiche and Issac Gross.
• Nkemdiche received All-America status from several publications and was recognized for his disruptive ability despite less-than-gaudy stats.
• Gross is among the SEC's active leaders with 27 career TFLs.
• The group is joined this spring by the nation's No. 1 JUCO tackle prospect in D.J. Jones from national champion East Mississippi CC.
• After redshirting last year, freshmen Breeland Speaks and Garrald McDowell will also compete for snaps this spring.
LINEBACKERS
• Linebacker may be the position at which the Rebels must replace the most production, with the loss of senior starters Serderius Bryant and Deterrian Shackelford and backup Keith Lewis.
• Ole Miss does return six lettermen, headlined by two-time All-SEC pick Denzel Nkemdiche, who is recovering from a broken ankle at LSU in October.
• Competing for the Mike linebacker job vacated by Shackelford will be Christian Russell, DeMarquis Gates and perhaps JUCO transfer Terry Caldwell.
• Tayler Polk and Temario Strong also saw game action at linebacker a year ago.
• 6-3, 247-pound signee Shawn Curtis will join the team this fall.
SAFETIES/HUSKIES
• Two-time All-American free safety Cody Prewitt graduated, but the Rebels return six lettermen and a ton of production at safety/huskie.
• Tony Conner is a two-year starter at Huskie and made the All-SEC second team last year after totaling 69 tackles and leading all SEC DBs with a team high-tying 9.0 TFLs.
• Trae Elston is a three-year starter at Rover.
• After a year under their belts, sophomores C.J. Hampton, A.J. Moore and C.J. Moore should earn more reps, along with senior Chief Brown.
• Highly rated signees Montrell Custis and Armani Linton will join the team this fall.
CORNERBACKS
• Unanimous first team All-American Senquez Golson has departed, while three returning lettermen and some impact newcomers look to maintain the Rebels' excellence at cornerback.
• Mike Hilton is a versatile two-year starter who has actually started a game at every defensive backfield position.
• Kendarius Webster earned solid reps as a freshman last year, while former JUCO star Tee Shepard looks to contribute after losing last season to a toe injury.
SPECIALISTS
• Gary Wunderlich and Will Gleeson return as the starting placekicker and punter, respectively.
• Wunderlich also saw spot duty at punter last year.
• The Rebels have to replace four-year long snapper and 2014 team captain Will Denny.
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